Max Severijns

Max teaches techniques that will score 'ippons' in live rounds. Preferably spectacular ones.

His teaching is built on two core ideas: the fundamentals matter, and there is no single style of judo that works for everyone. Rather than asking students to copy techniques exactly, Max helps them understand the principles behind each movement. Students are encouraged to adapt them to their own body type and strengths. Max is from The Netherlands.

Shintaro Higashi

As an international competitor and lifelong student of judo, Shintaro has dedicated his career to making high-level judo accessible to everyone, from complete beginners to elite athletes and from anywhere on earth.

His teaching combines traditional Japanese University judo with modern coaching methods. He enjoys working with everyone from complete beginners to elite athletes and believes that high-level instruction should be accessible to anyone willing to put in the work.

Ben Davidson

Ben combines a lifelong wrestling background with judo to help students develop takedowns that work across multiple grappling styles. A black belt under Shintaro Higashi and an active competitor, he enjoys helping students understand the connection between wrestling and judo while building techniques from simple, repeatable movements.

Ben is especially passionate about modern, unconventional attacks, and enjoys helping judoka and wrestlers expand their games through a practical hybrid approach.

Kensuke Gunji

Gunji brings the experience of Japan's highest levels of competitive judo to LIC Judo. A former member of the prestigious Asahi Kasei Judo Team, he trained alongside some of the sport's greatest athletes, including Olympic and World Champions Shohei Ono, Takanori Nagase, and Ryunosuke Haga.

After retiring from competition, Gunji turned his attention to coaching. His teaching reflects the technical precision that defines Japanese judo.

Louis Garza

Louis, a born New Yorker, learned judo at Kokushi Budo Institute, training under Shintaro Higashi. He believes the most fun part of judo is in finding your own game, and he is here to help you find it.

Louis is an experienced teacher,  spending two years abroad teaching kindergarten and grades 4 through 6, as well as helping his father run a youth soccer program in Rego Park, where he grew up. 

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